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Power restored in Pakistan after blackout

AGENCIES|Published — Tuesday 26 February 2013

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Ministry of Water and Power announced yesterday that power was restored across the country, including Karachi and Quetta, following a widespread, countrywide breakdown on Sunday night. Power transmission was restored in Sindh and Karachi adding that the electricity issue in Karachi was from within the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC)’s own system and that the electricity crises in Karachi had no link with the national grid.
The Ministry of Water and Power has started its own inquiry into breakdown. The breakdown occurred at about 11:45pm on Sunday, cutting off power supply across almost the entire country.
Power was restored yesterday morning with electricity supply resuming in some parts of Karachi and Quetta as well as in other areas of the country. Secretary Water and Power Rai Sikandar said 5,000MW of electricity had reentered the system, enabling the restoration of electricity supply across Pakistan.
He said the breakdown was caused when the Hubco Power Plant tripped due to a technical failure and other power plants were shut down in order to prevent any damage to their respective systems, thus leaving more than half the country in darkness.
Another official, Masood Akhtar, said that power was restored to most parts of the country by midmorning and that a few remaining areas should get it back soon. Energy-starved Pakistan experiences daily power outages but complete breakdowns are rare.
Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has also ordered an inquiry into the matter.